Cambria Investment Management L.P. Trims Stock Position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Cambria Investment Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,008 shares during the quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DFS. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 76.1% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.63% of the company’s stock.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of DFS stock traded down $1.11 on Wednesday, reaching $84.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 255,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,367,422. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.63. Discover Financial Services has a 1 year low of $79.04 and a 1 year high of $122.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.44.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.95 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.54 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s payout ratio is 20.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DFS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $109.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $100.00 to $99.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.59.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.